Glenda Ritz, Indiana's superintendent of public instruction, is at odds with some in the General Assembly over control of the state's school voucher program.

Say what you will about Tony Bennett, Indiana's one-term, whirling education reform dervish. But he made a historically weak state school superintendent position strong enough that his fellow Republicans fear the woman who took him down in the 2012 election.

To watch some Indiana House Republicans angling this week, you'd think Glenda Ritz was some sort of superhero able to bend education reform steel with her bare hands.

Come on.

Republicans, who hold a supermajority in the Indiana House and Indiana Senate, promised to play nice with Ritz, a Democrat who scored a stunning upset in November with the help of a groundswell of bad will toward Bennett.

But from Gov. Mike Pence to key Statehouse leaders in the General Assembly, there has been little desire to walk back the reforms - from teacher evaluations to A-through-F grades for schools to private school vouchers - Bennett championed so effectively.

House Bill 1342 includes a provision that would move oversight of Indiana's two-year-old private school voucher program from the Indiana Department of Education to the Office of Management and Budget. In other words, the bill would transfer that control from Ritz to the governor's office.

The bill passed, along party lines, out of a House committee on Wednesday. Key supporters claimed that Ritz's one-time support for a legal challenge of the voucher system was reason not to trust it in her hands. (That challenge, minus Ritz's signature, is being considered by the Indiana Supreme Court.)

Part of Bennett's problem was that he didn't size up Hoosiers' feelings about a comfortable speed on education reform. And he paid the price. (At least he paid the price in Indiana; he's since been hired state superintendent in Florida.)

If Ritz's election said anything, it was: Slow down, partner. Let all of those education reforms simmer and settle out.

Some GOP House members seem to have the same problem that felled Bennett, who during the campaign promised more reform at greater speeds. Lawmakers aren't reading election results that simply couldn't be more clear.

Moving the voucher plan from the education department to the budget office seems to confirm the worst suspicions of those who voted for Ritz: This really is about money and control, not about education.

That might be an oversimplification of the situation. But with moves such as the ones made this week, Hoosiers have reason to be suspicious of the motives.

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Editorial: Just how scared is Indiana GOP of school Supt. Glenda Ritz?

Say what you will about Tony Bennett, Indiana's one-term, whirling education reform dervish.